Triangulation and “Third Way” policies are dead in the Democratic party. We now can be certain that the country is exactly as polarized as it has felt for two decades. Corporatist pleas for a “can’t we all just along” approach have fallen on deaf ears and rightly so. The other side in American politics is fueled by nativism, racism, and radical selfishness. There is no middle ground.
The path forward for Progressives is to close ranks and insist on the rule of law. Self-segregation along ideological and urban/rural lines will only increase for the foreseeable future. But what is different now is the need to defend whatever islands of sanity (and there are many) that exist in this country. Progressives will be less compromising and more supportive of other progressives. Political battle lines will be drawn and we will simply have to dig in and get stronger. The other side will not get stronger or smarter on its own. Time is not on the side of America’s most backwards people. Let them run the deep red areas as they will, offer no assistance, and let them break under the weight of their own stupidity. Don’t kid yourself: They are barbarians; so man the gates.